


Can We Talk?

by magnificentbanes



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-03
Updated: 2018-03-03
Packaged: 2019-03-26 11:38:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 915
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13857024
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/magnificentbanes/pseuds/magnificentbanes
Summary: Max has a question that only Magnus can answer





	Can We Talk?

A disturbance in Magnus’s wards woke him up from his nap. Still groggy, Magnus snapped his fingers, replacing his worn out pajama pants with a full outfit because even in his sleepy haze, he realized that whoever was on the other side of the door probably didn’t want to see his bare chest.

As he walked out towards the living room, he heard someone incessantly knocking. Rolling his eyes, Magnus opened the door, ready to snap. But before he started yelling, he actually took a moment to see who had interrupted what he felt was a well deserved nap. “Max? What are you doing here?”

“Can we talk?”

Magnus studied Max’s face. He looked highly distressed but also like a person who was doing something he knew he shouldn’t be. “Is everything okay?”

“Yes. No. I don’t know.”

“Max, does anyone know you’re here?”

“Well, no,” Max admitted, not looking Magnus in the eye.

Magnus sighed. “Come in.” He stepped aside to let Max into the apartment, while sending a text to Isabelle letting her know that Max was with him and he was safe. “What can I do for you, young Shadowhunter?”

“Did my dad cheat on my mom?”

“Excuse me?”

“I overheard Jace and Izzy talking about it.”

“Why are you asking me about this, Max? Surely your siblings…” He trailed off, knowing full well that the older Lightwood siblings had intentionally kept Robert’s misdeeds off of Max’s radar.

Max gave Magnus a look that reminded him a little too much of Alec and he barely suppressed a grin. “You know that they all treat me like I’m some baby. So, please, Magnus. I know Alec tells you everything. Just tell me the truth.”

Magnus sighed. He knew that Alec would be upset if he found out that he’d told Max the truth, but he also knew that Max was right - he wasn’t a baby and he didn’t need to be shielded from the world. “Yes, your dad cheated on your mom.”

“Huh.”

"Are you okay?”

Max shrugged. “I mean, I guess.” Magnus watched Max’s face screw up in concentration. “Magnus, can I ask you a question?”

“Of course.”

“You’ve been in love a lot, right?”

Magnus laughed. “A time or two, yes.”

“And you love Alec?”

“More than I’ve ever loved anyone.”

Max nodded. “Do you think my dad loved my mom?”

That threw Magnus for a loop. How do you explain the intricacies of romantic relationships to a thirteen-year-old boy who had hardly ever interacted with people his own age? Hell, he and Alec had been together for over a year and there were still things about love that Alec was learning.

Stupid Shadowhunters and their inability to express emotions.

“I think it’s complicated.”

“That’s a bullshit answer and you know it.” Magnus laughed because he could just hear Alec chastising Max for cursing. “Would you ever cheat on Alec?”

“Never.”

Max was quiet for a long time. “You know, I don’t think my dad loved my mom.”

“I don’t either.”

“What happened to ‘it’s complicated?’”

“Hey, now, I don’t want to be in  _ complete  _ trouble with your brother.” That made Max laugh and Magnus smiled. It was good to see him laugh - he’d tried to grow up too fast, so it was nice to see him acting like a kid.

Before Magnus could react, Max was hugging him tightly. “Thank you,” he said, his voice muffled by Magnus’s shirt.

“For what?”

Max released him and stepped back. “For not treating me like a baby. And,” here he paused, like he was choosing his words carefully, “and for loving Alec. He deserves it.”

Magnus didn’t know how to respond to that without crying, so instead he said, “Let me make you a portal to the Institute before Isabelle has a heart attack.”

“Aw, you told Izzy?”

“I suck, I know.”

“Nah, you’re pretty great.” Magnus created the portal and Max hugged him once again before stepping through.

——

That night, Magnus was in bed, his chest pressed to Alec’s back, their hands intertwined over Alec’s heart. “Oh, I almost forgot. Your brother came to see me today.”

Alec groaned. “What did Jace want this time?”

“You have more than one brother, darling.”

Alec shifted so he was facing Magnus. “Max was here? Why?”

“He just wanted to talk to someone who wouldn’t treat him like a little kid.”

“I don’t treat him like a little kid.”

“Alexander.”

“Okay, maybe I do. But you don’t understand, babe. It’s hard for me to see him as an almost-adult. I mean, I practically raised him. I was a teenager when he was born and my parents were too tired and busy to really care for him, so it fell to me.”

Magnus leaned forward and pressed his lips to Alec’s forehead. “I know, my love. And, for what it’s worth, Max turned out pretty great.”

“Yeah?”

“You’re going to be a wonderful father one day, Alexander.”

Alec’s face split into the smile that crinkled his eyes at the corners that he reserved for private moments like this, moments when it was just the two of them. Magnus loved that only he got to see this side of Alec. “God, I love you.”

“I love you, too. More than you’ll ever know.” Alec kissed him on the lips and turned in bed so his back was pressed against Magnus’s chest once more. He was snoring within minutes and Magnus let the sound lull him to sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> come visit me on tumblr: magnificentbane!


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